Eddie Jones: 'I am a much better coach than I was this time last year'

Eddie Jones’ time with the Wallabies and Rugby Australia officially ends on November 25, but the coach won’t be waiting until then to field offers for his services in 2024.

And it won’t be the Eddie of old his next employer lands, with the stinging reality of Australia’s first-ever Rugby World Cup pool stage exit fresh in mind, Jones claims to be much better for his 2023 experience.

It was a 2023 that couldn’t have gone much worse for Rugby Australia, again struggling to make up any ground against New Zealand in Super Rugby Pacific and finishing the international season with just two wins from nine games, watching the Rugby World Cup knockout stages from home.

One of the drama’s that plagued the final fixtures of the year was rumours of Jones’ disloyalty in taking a meeting with Japan Rugby over the Brave Blossoms head coaching role that Jamie Joseph vacated at the end of the 2023 campaign.

“Obviously I want to coach,” Jones told The Australian. “I’m looking for a job now.

“If Japan did come knocking I’d definitely chat to them and I’ve had a couple of other countries approach me. There’s a club in Europe interested so I would expect by January I’ll be working again.

“Australia has been a massive disappointment for me – and all this stuff about Japan like, why would I take the youngest squad to the World Cup? So we had the youngest team in the World Cup, right, why would I do that? Why would I do that if I had no intention of staying on? I am not an idiot – I had the intention of staying on. For the play that I had, it then had to have the (high performance) system change in place otherwise we are going to have more of the same.”

Jones went on to not rule out informal contact with Japan, suggesting there was perhaps an introductory conversation between the two parties but nothing that progressed the relationship significantly.

“I’ve had no formal talks with them (Japan), everyone knows that discussions take place, like I’ve had a discussion this morning with the club, and that doesn’t mean I’m taking the job as well, that doesn’t mean I’m being disloyal to what I’m doing now,” Jones said.

“Because there’s agents in the world that are continually ringing up. They make money by connecting people. I haven’t done anything formal. I haven’t done anything untoward at all or had a formal approach in Japan … nothing’s changed in that regard.

“I’m looking for a job now, like I’m unemployed now. So yeah, I need to look for a job and if that’s a sin … then that’s a terrible thing I am doing.”

There are positions open at the international and club level; the aforementioned Japan role as well as a Top 14 opportunity may be the best suited to Jones’ pockets, but the United States of America, Fiji and Tonga also hold outside odds on securing the 63-year-old’s services.

Jones was the eldest statesman of his Tier one counterparts at the recent Rugby World Cup, but insists – despite the historically disappointing year – that like a fine wine, he’s only improving with age.

“As I’ve got the energy to do it, I’ll keep doing (coaching),” he said. “But as you know, in terms of experience and learning, the older you get, the better coach you are.

“I am a much better coach than I was this time last year. I’ve learnt a lot from Australia. I’ve learned some things I shouldn’t have done, some things I didn’t do well and I’ll be a better coach in the next job that I do.”